An embodiment of the present invention relates to the field of airline travel. More particularly, an embodiment of the present invention relates to the field of aircraft boarding piers, specifically to aircraft boarding piers servicing smaller, regional aircraft. An embodiment of the present invention provides among other things the integration of a regional aircraft boarding pier in an airport concourse with existing bridges for larger jet passenger aircraft.
Air travel has becoming increasing popular over the past decade and has evolved to handle an ever growing passenger volume. An important aspect of this evolution is the structure of flight routes through a xe2x80x9chubxe2x80x9d airport. Today, hub routing has become an essential part of the efficient operation of an airline.
This trend has been aided by the advent of regional aircraft. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cregional aircraftxe2x80x9d refers to jet or propeller aircraft that are smaller than typical large commercial airline passenger jets and are used to service regional, as opposed to national, passenger routes. Regional aircraft will typically be identified as having about 110 seats or less. Aircraft with substantially more than 110 seats and which are used to travel traditional airline routes between major airports are considered xe2x80x9clarge aircraftxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9clarge jetsxe2x80x9d herein. The advent of regional aircraft has created a new market for air travel in which air passengers can span relatively large distances quickly on a regional aircraft at the end or beginning of a trip while using a larger jet to cover the bulk of the trip mileage.
Manufacturers of regional aircraft, particularly craft with 50 or fewer seats, include Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer SA, Canada""s Bombardier and Fairchild Aerospace of the United States. The popularity of regional aircraft produced by these manufacturers has exceeded expectations. For example, Bombardier forecast initial sales of 400 aircraft when it launched its regional jet model in the early 1990s. Bombardier instead received orders and options for 1,066 of its CRJ-200 50-seater and larger CRJ-700 derivative. Similarly, Embraer booked dozens more orders than expected for its ERJ-135 and ERJ-145 aircraft at a recent Paris air show.
Capitalizing on this strong commercial interest, Bombardier has launched the CRJ-700, a 70-seat aircraft, and plans an even larger BRJ-X model with 90 or 110 seats. Fairchild has recently launched the 70-seat 728JET and also offers a longer version with around 100 seats. Embraer has also booked orders for its new ERJ-170 and ERJ-190, with about 70 and 100 seats, respectively.
One problem with regional aircraft travel is that the regional aircraft terminal is often located at a site remote from the main terminal. Consequently, a passenger on a regional aircraft, whether transferring to or from a large aircraft, needs to traverse the length of the airport and/or travel between terminals to make the transfer. As air travel becomes increasingly popular and important to the economy, the frequent regional aircraft passenger represents an increasing share of the air travel market. Consequently, a significant problem is presented by the remote location of the regional aircraft terminal, which prevents quick and seamless plane transfers for the regional aircraft passenger. Additionally, the remote location of the regional aircraft terminal also affects airline scheduling for large aircraft because passengers must be allowed time to traverse the often large distances between a regional aircraft boarding gate and the boarding gate for the large aircraft.
Another problem with regional aircraft travel is that the passenger is frequently required to walk outside on the tarmac and climb stairs to board the regional aircraft. If the weather is inclement, boarding and deplaning from a regional aircraft is made more difficult than boarding and deplaning from large aircraft entirely within the closed and conditioned space of conventional airports, which have been developed, for large aircraft.
Where a passenger is unable to walk, boarding a regional aircraft from the tarmac in a wheelchair can present additional problems. In the past, these problems have been addressed by building some kind of wheelchair lift. However, such boarding is often time consuming and can be a source of embarrassment or self-consciousness for the wheelchair passenger. The combination of a wheelchair lift and inclement weather may make the prospect of regional aircraft travel even less acceptable for disabled passengers.
Consequently, there is a need in the art to make regional aircraft travel more convenient and efficient. Specifically, as regional aircraft become more prevalent, a need exists to integrate terminals and boarding gates for the regional aircraft with terminals and boarding gates for large aircraft in a manner that overcomes at least some of the problems of the prior art.
One embodiment encompasses a method of integrating boarding facilities for a number of regional aircraft and large jets in a single airport concourse. The method includes, providing an airport concourse with a number of conventional large jet passenger bridges that are connected to the concourse. The large jet passenger bridges have a traditional elevation above the tarmac that is continuously adjustable to match the sill height of a variety of large jets. Under one embodiment, this method further includes constructing at least one regional aircraft boarding pier connected to the same concourse. The regional aircraft boarding pier is structured as set forth above.
This method of integrating boarding facilities for regional aircraft and large jets in a single airport concourse may be used with a variety of airport concourse configurations. For example, the common concourse supporting both large and regional aircraft boarding facilities may be an elongated structure attached to a network of additional concourses. Alternatively, the common concourse may be, or be part of, a midfield terminal. Such a midfield terminal may be elongated or circular.
One embodiment encompasses the method of retrofitting an existing airport concourse with at least one regional aircraft boarding pier as described above. One embodiment includes replacing two adjacent large jet passenger bridges with a regional aircraft boarding pier that has the same structure as set forth above.
One embodiment encompasses a method of transferring air passengers between at least one regional aircraft and a large jet or another regional aircraft. The method allows for air passengers to transfer between a regional aircraft and a large jet or between two regional aircraft without climbing stairs to the aircraft from the tarmac and without walking out of the enclosed controlled atmosphere of the airport. The method includes providing an airport concourse and docking at least one large jet to a large jet passenger bridge that is connected to the concourse. The method continues by docking at least one regional aircraft to a regional aircraft boarding pier that is connected to the same concourse. The regional aircraft boarding pier has the inventive structure as set forth above.
A passenger then transfers either between the large jet and the regional aircraft, or between the regional aircraft and another regional aircraft. Consequently, the passenger can switch aircraft, including a switch between a large jet and a regional aircraft, without leaving the concourse. This prevents the passenger from experiencing either inclement weather or having to use a wheelchair lift to reach the airplane. This also prevents the passenger from having to traverse a great distance between connecting flights as both large and regional aircraft can be docked at the common concourse.
Another embodiment relates to a passenger with a single-use of one of the regional aircraft boarding pier embodiments, without a transfer to/from another regional passenger aircraft, or to/from a large jet. Another embodiment relates to a passenger with a double-use of one of the regional aircraft boarding pier embodiments, without a transfer to/from another regional passenger aircraft, or to/from a large jet. In the double-use embodiment, the passenger boards by use of a regional aircraft boarding pier embodiment, and likewise deplanes by use of a regional aircraft boarding pier embodiment.
One embodiment also encompasses a system of docking regional aircraft. The system of docking regional aircraft includes at least one regional aircraft boarding pier that has at hub, a number of regional aircraft passenger bridges connected to and radiating from the hub, and a number of regional aircraft respectively docked at the regional aircraft passenger bridges. This system of docking regional aircraft may further include a concourse passenger bridge connecting the pier hub to an airport concourse.